Tragic loss and other updates

Hello out there in pc land. This is Bill. I just wanted to give a quick update on the things that have happened since the last blog. I am sure Amanda will do more (and with pictures) later, but so we don't get too far behind, I will update now.
First, We had quite an adventure after the Williams family gathering. Amanda, Marie and I spent a lovely 3 days in the beautiful Germanesque hamlet of Helen, Ga. We ate and slept and walked and played putt-putt golf and saw many lovely things there, as well as had a pcnic and hiked to Anna Ruby Falls. After a horse and carraige ride on the last night, we departed the next morning for one of the most harrowing times in our trip down south.
We left Helen to travel to Atlanta where we were to turn in our rental car and then catch a greyhound bus to Nashville. I cannot go into the details because there were simply too many things that happened that were really stressful (just thinking about them has my blood pressure up). But needless to say, God saw us through getting on the bus with 5 baggages of luggage (3 suitcases, a carseat and a portable bed for Marie, not to mention the diaper bag my computer bag and lunch, which proved more than we could handle), getting us 2 seats even though 3 were paid for, with thanks to the driver, we sat together and 5 hours later we arrived in Nashville.
Hoby and Bonniegene Grace (friends of ours from when I was in school at Heritage who now minister at the McEwen Church of Christ) picked us up in NashVegas and I don't believe I was ever so happy to anyone as I was to see them. They drove us to Miss Hattie's house and we began a leisurely stay with my beloved mother-in-law. Thank you so much for the great relaxing time there Miss Hattie. We love you and miss you (especially Marie). While in McEwen, we joined in the start of VBS with a catfish fry and let me tell you, Wade Tummins cooks the best catfish I have ever eaten. On Sunday, I taught class and had the opportunity to bring a gospel lesson to the brethren there. I also got the chance to mow Miss Hattie's grass (that's for you Tom) as well as some other odds and ends to help her with maintainance. We enjoyed two nights of VBS of which I got to lead songs one of them (I always enjoy singing those kinds of songs). Then with a somewhat sad (but ready to be home) heart, we left on Tuesday to come back to Juneau.
Here we have two losses. On the trip back, I was carrying some milk in my bag for Marie (I should have known better and now I do) and in the shuffle, it spilled on my computer and fried it. Hence the reason why we have not been online, well, at all. With the exeption of me being here at the office. Then upon arriving in Juneau (HOME AT LAST), we find that Pippin pulled a Houdini while we were gone and had escaped from the house and had been on the loose for at least 4 days. We were heart-broken. After much prayer and searching, the next morning the prodical cat strolled up the street (looking very lean) while Amanda, who had been out nearly all morning calling for him, was taking a rest on the front porch. He ran straight up to Amanda and she picked him up carried him in and after eating two bowls of food, our little family was reunited once more. Bill, Amanda, Marie, Pippin and Shadow Williams back together again. We are still working on the computer problem but we are hopeful to have it taken care of here soon.
The next up for me is the Chilkoot trail with Geoffrey Wyatt. We leave next week so keep us and our significant others, as well as our children, in prayer.

Just so you will have something to look at, this is one of my favorite pictures of me while fishing. I don't have any new pics on this computer.

Abiding in His love,
Bill

Marie's Vacation Activities

Marie was a very busy little girl while we were on vacation. Sometimes it didn't even seem like she was resting. Here are some pictures I caught of her.


Here she has piles and piles of laundry that she's working on. Don't worry - she had help with the lifting.




She took a break for a little while to play Rook with her Granddaddy Max and Grandmama Nell.




One of her favorite things to do was to help with the dishes. She knew that with 15 people, it can be a big job!




Here she is helping get things ready for dinner. She has a knack for cooking.






She was a big talker at the dinner table. She was always entertaining.




All in all, I think she had a good time meeting the rest of the Williams family.

The Williams Family Vacation

For the last few days, we've enjoyed the Williams Family Vacation at a nice cozy big cabin in Blue Ridge Georgia. Here are some highlights of our trip.

This is Bill with his parents and brother and sister. They're a classy sort of bunch, don't you think?

Here's all the grandchildren. Notice that they're all girls. Sometime in the (distant) future, Bill and I will have to do something about bringing a grandson into this bunch. Oh, that poor child!


Here is Marie with her Granddaddy Max.


There was always some sort of game being played in the basement, whether Guitar Heros or pool. Although the Bayne girls were quite impressive on the guitar, I'd much prefer to watch a game of pool - even if the game was looooooooooooooooooooooong!


On Sunday night, the whole family went to a Japanese place to eat dinner. This is where Bill left me. For the whole story about that, ask Bill. It was actually really funny!


After we got back from the Japanese place, we had Marie's birthday with the Williams family.


This is a common scene you'd see going through the house. There was always some conversation going on among a group of us.




Next year the family vacation is in Juneau, right?

Mexico

We spent May 31st through June 4th in Mexico, which was not nearly long enough. Originally, we were going to go down there for Ben's wedding. But, because of a BIG mistake on my part about mixing up some dates, we ended up going for the mission trip portion instead. Here is a summary of our trip.

Every Sunday night, the church members meet in a park and play games and fellowship together. This particular Sunday night, they celebrated the birthday of twins.


On Monday, the mission team met at the church building for a planning/working day. Notice that Marie is supervising this project.


On Tuesday morning we went to Jazmin's wedding shower. In the afternoon while Bill and Jason stayed and worked at the church building, the rest of us went to Guatajuanto. It was a beautiful city built on a hill. In the picture from left to right: Jim Cato (Valley CoC-AK); my nephew and his new wife, Ben and Jazmin Baker (South Leon CoC-Mexico); Jennifer Gardner (Valley CoC-AK); my sister and brother-in-law, Tammie and Pete Baker (Valley CoC-AK); me and Marie (Juneau CoC); and Emma, Micah, and Tana Palafox (South Leon CoC-Mexico).


On Wednesday afternoon, we visited an orphanage in Leon. From what I understand, this is more like a children's home because most children are not ever adopted out since Leon is not a well-known place were celebrities and other people come to adopt children. Some members of the AIM team at Leon are involved here. We had brought crayons and coloring books for the children. Then Bill told them the story about creation. After that we had a snack and a prayer.


One of the projects we did was building a new baptistery. Now, a baptistery here is not like the baptisteries we have in the US. They are not porcelain or fiberglass with a faucet. They are unattached; the baptistery has to be filled up before a baptism and then emptied afterwards. Well, the one they had was 5 years old and literally falling apart. So Bill and Jason (far right) took it upon themselves to plan and build a new one. It was actually a pretty neat design. Inside the baptistery, there is a little platform-like thing that the person being baptized sits down on. So they are actually baptized sitting down. This design allows less water to be used in filling up the baptistery. The person doing the baptizing can stand outside the baptistery (as shown by Bill here) or they can stand behind the person in the baptistery. As far as the draining is concerned - they put casters on the bottom of the baptistery which allows it to be rolled to a drain in the middle of the room and then you just pull the plug to drain it. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. The other projects we worked on was moving the projector and the screen - they had been wanting to change the direction of the auditorium. Pete built several wooden benches. Tammie, an AIM student, and I worked on organizing a supply room. And then there were several places in the roof covering that allowed a lot of light to come in, which made it hard to see what was projected on the screen. The cheapest solution we found for this was spray painting it from the inside. This trip may not have been a traditional mission trip, but it was definitely a working one.




On Wednesday night, the church meets together and sings for about 30 minutes and then they have a Bible study. It was a neat thought that even though we are singing the same song, it sounds completely different to us, but to God it sounds the same.

Happy Birthday Marie!

May 22nd was Marie's first birthday. Yes, I'm late posting, but we have been a little busy. In fact, we are in Mexico right now. I didn't get these pictures off my camera until yesterday. I felt like I had a little more energy tonight, so that's why I'm blogging. Enjoy the pictures!

A big thanks to Rachel, who captured a lot of good pictures (including this one) during the party.


On Marie's birthday, I had to work all day. It was up to her and Bill to decorate and get things ready for the party. Marie looks like she had a good time helping her daddy.


Marie enjoyed eating her birthday cake. She didn't want to stop!


Bill had some streamer paper left over, so he made this. I think Marie approves.


This is a big animal book that Marie's Aunt Tammie got for her. It is now one of her favorite things.